Reunion Hacks: Hotel Rooms

Yes, it’s quaint, and a bit nostalgic, to sleep in our old rooms … on those “Yale single” bedframes that squeak when you sit on them.  But many spouses or partners are not so, um, adventurous, nor brave enough to deal with shared bathrooms, third-floor walk-ups and the other limitations of dorm living. They (or we!) want a regular hotel room, thank you very much.

This post will tell you all about hotels in the area, and how to get reservations.  See below for the special significance of November 1^st.

This post is the first “Reunion Hack” — tips and tricks for making your reunion experience easier and more comfortable.  Future issues will deal with getting around, special dietary needs, things spouses will enjoy in Greater New Haven and Southern Connecticut, and even things like dealing with limitations on mobility (canes, wheelchairs, etc.)   But for today, it’s all about hotels near Yale for those who aren’t staying on campus.

Downtown Hotels and the Critical Date of Nov. 1^st

First, there are only four “downtown” hotels — see the purple dots on the map. Supposedly, they will open up the “reunion block” of rooms at noon on November 1st … although at least one person we know has already booked a pricey room at the Courtyard By Marriott, 30 Whalley Avenue (near where it turns into Broadway).

These 4 hotels will sell out quickly, and they are not shy about high rates and tough terms like full prepayment, two-night minimums, and non-refundable reservations, especially for reservations prior to November 1st. So, if you want premium space where you can walk to the reunion, jump on these, either now or on Nov. 1^st at noon.

Request: if/when you book something, please leave a comment at the bottom of this post on your experience, rates, terms … whatever.  It might help the next guy.

Or Stay A Short Drive Away

There are 42 hotels in the arc from Milford to Branford,  and you can get information about them (phone, rates, reviews, location, etc.) either on this spreadsheet or on the map below. Just click on a dot and you’ll see everything we know about the hotel. If you want to inspect it, most hotel websites have pictures of the property. And there’s always Google street view if you want an unbiased look at the property from the outside.

Click on the “+” to zoom in; drag to reposition; click on dot for more info

If you stay in a hotel out by the highway, you’ll need to drive to campus during the reunion days.  Uber/Lyft are no-hassle choices.  And if you drive your own car into town, you have some parking alternatives:

Parking, Paid and Free

There are many paid lots in the downtown New Haven area.  Here’s a map for easy navigation.   The four downtown hotels also offer paid parking for their guests.  There are also a limited number of on-street alternatives, if you don’t mind “feeding the meter” every few hours.

Yale has many parking lots, most of them restricted, either during the workday hours (Thursday and Friday) or all the time.

Yale offers one very large FREE parking place — the Pierson-Sage Garage on Whitney and Edwards.  This is up near Science Hill, which is about a mile walk from Davenport, but a free Yale Shuttle comes by every 10-15 minutes and will drop you off on York Street, in front of Davenport.

The Best Free Parking: Pierson-Sage Garage

We will go into more detail about parking and shuttles in future “Reunion Hacks” articles.  But we wanted you to know about this in case you wanted to get a hotel out of the downtown area and wanted to know how to get into town and park.

Don’t forget to leave a comment below if you learn something that may help the next man trying to book a room.